In our ongoing efforts to support industry standards, AMD Opteron™ processor -based motherboards can leverage industry standard tower/pedestal chassis. The selection of the proper system chassis is a critical element to the success of the finished system. For best results, a system builder should always contact the motherboard & chassis suppliers or vendor to verify that each of the chosen components supports the desired system configuration. The following data is a basic guideline that has been tested and approved provided by the Engineering staff at AMD.
Note: This data is only a guideline and is not a substitute for a system builder a) verifying that a chassis meets industry and customer requirements or b) conducting its own research, testing and validation.
System Enclosures or Chassis Selection
The choice of the appropriate system enclosure depends on many factors as follows:
1. It must be a compatible with the chosen motherboard and power supply. Confirm the motherboard and power supply requirements with those suppliers.
2. It must allow enough airflow through the system to adequately cool all the internal components, especially critical parts like the processor.
3. It must have good fit and finish, e.g., no razor-sharp edges.
Basic Chassis Selection Guidelines
The following are some basic guidelines to aid in finding an enclosure with adequate cooling capability:
- Use 80mm fans or larger.
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Choose a chassis with a fan in the back that is in addition to the CPU fan.
- Cables inside the enclosure can cause airflow disruptions. Tie and route the cables out of the path of the cooling airflow.
- For tower chassis, choose a chassis with power supplies that have both ATX-style bottom air intake vents and front air intake vents.
- When the system is in a tower chassis, there must be clear space in front of the chassis to allow cool airflow in and space behind the chassis for the heated air to flow out.
- Rear fans should exhaust air in the same direction -- out the back of the chassis.
- Front intake fans may not be of significant benefit to cooling a tower chassis, and should not be relied upon as the sole fan in a system.
